EEA and international cooperation

EEA and international cooperation

EEA and international cooperation

Under Article 2(1) of Protocol 23 to the EEA Agreement the Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority (“ESA”) are required to inform each other when opening ex officio procedures in cases that are of EEA relevance (see Module on Relations with third countries). This requirement applies also to cases that have been initiated as a result of a leniency application.

More about EEA and international cooperation

Under Article 9(3) of Protocol 23, however, where the information transmitted by the Commission to ESA (or vice-versa) concerns a case which has been initiated as a result of a leniency application, the receiving authority is prevented from using the information as the basis for starting an investigation on its own behalf. It is therefore crucial when informing ESA of the opening of a new case to make clear that the case has been initiated as the result of a leniency application.

More about the Subject

Under Article 9(1) of Protocol 23 the Commission and ESA may also, for the purpose of applying Articles 53 and 54 of the EEA Agreement, exchange information and use it in evidence. As in the case of the exchange of information within the ECN under Article 12 of Regulation 1/2003, Article 9(4) and (5) places restrictions on the circumstances in which protected leniency information may be exchanged between the Commission and ESA. These provisions exactly mirror those which apply to Article 12.

Resources

See Also

References

  • Information about EEA and international cooperation in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Further Reading

  • Information about EEA and international cooperation in EU Competition Procedure, 3rd. Edition, Edited by Luis Ortiz Blanco (Oxford University Press)

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *